The present invention relates to a device including a fragrance-releasing pull-apart sheet and, more Particularly, to such a device which is useful as an insert in a magazine.
Fragrance-releasing pull-apart sheets are well known in the art. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,417; U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,388; U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,869; U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,846. According to the prior art systems, two surfaces, sheets or opposed faces of a folded single sheet of paper are temporarily bonded together by means of an adhesive with rupturable fragrance-containing microcapsules dispersed therein. The microcapsules are ruptured by pulling apart the sheets so as to cause the microcapsules to rupture and release the fragrance contained therein. A common use of such sheets is in inserts advertising perfumes (including colognes, toilet waters and the like), the inserts being bound into magazines (including books, pamphlets and like reading matter). Such fragrance-releasing inserts have not proven to be entirely satisfactory in use, however.
Because the fragrance-releasing insert is bound into the magazine, once the user separates the temporarily bonded surfaces to rupture the microcapsules and release the fragrance, the fragrance pervades not only the insert, but the entire magazine. At least in those instances where the fragrance is offensive to the user, the user may thereafter put aside the magazine rather than continuing to endure the fragrance. Indeed, the potential negative impact of such an insert on an advertisement disposed on an adjacent page is so great that some publishers require that the advertiser who wishes to use a fragrance-releasing insert must also purchase the adjacent pages, thereby greatly increasing the cost of the advertisement.
Even if the fragrance-releasing advertisement had a detachable fragrance-releasing portion and instructions to remove such detachable portion from the remainder of the insert prior to releasing the scent therefrom, human nature is such that, if the fragrance could possibly be activated without the user going to the minor effort of removing the detachable portion from the remainder of the insert, it would probably be done so. The only way to insure that the detachable portion is removed from the remainder of the insert prior to release of the scent is to ensure that the scent cannot be released except by first removing the detachable portion from the remainder of the insert.
As the most convenient way to form the two overlapping surfaces to be temporarily bonded together by the microcapsule-containing glue is to fold over an edge of a sheet, it is typically required that the fragrance-releasing insert be smaller than the ordinary page of the magazine by at least the width of the fold so that, once the fold is opened to release the fragrance, the insert still does not extend beyond the periphery of the magazine and thus render an untidy appearance to the magazine Thus the advertiser does not get the full "page" of advertising space for which he is paying.
Where advertising text or graphic elements extend over the front surface of the fold of the folded sheet, which front surface becomes the back surface upon unfolding of the sheet to release the fragrance, the text or graphic element of the advertisement is interrupted by release of the fragrance so that a subsequent reader does not receive the intended impact of the advertisement.
Magazines are typically limited to the use of a single fragrance-releasing insert in each issue of the magazine because otherwise the fragrance released by the second-opened insert would be contaminated by the residual fragrance from the first-opened insert.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fragrance-releasing insert which is adapted to be Permanently bound in a magazine but which has a detachable fragrance-releasing portion removable from the remainder of the insert (and hence from the magazine).
Another object to provide such an insert in which the fragrance cannot be released until the detachable portion of the insert is removed from the remainder of the insert.
A further object is to provide such an insert in which removal of the detachable portion does not interfere with the text or graphic features of the insert.
It is also an object to provide such an insert which includes a return postal card of acceptable thickness for mailing.
It is a further object to provide such a return postal card which may be removed from the insert without substantially affecting the appearance thereof.
Yet another object is to provide such an insert including a plurality of such detachable fragrance-releasing portions usable without fear of cross-contamination of the fragrances.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide such an insert which is fixedly bound in a magazine, but has a substantial portion thereof, including the fragrance-releasing portion, removable from the remainder of the insert.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a fragrance-releasing device which may be used independently of a magazine, book or the like.